Restoration of a chest of drawers: decoupage of an old chest of drawers with your own hands at home, master classes

You want to update your old, boring chest of drawers - what could be easier! Our master class is for “dummies”, that is, for those who do not know what decoupage is. Transform a simple thing and make it exclusive - all this is in your hands. Decoupage is the decoration of objects with cut out pictures, napkins, photographs, or fabric. The drawings are beautifully placed on the prepared surface, covered with PVA glue, and then varnished. This way old things will get a second chance and live longer.

Let's try to decoupage a chest of drawers with our own hands in the shabby chic style. The word “shabby chic” is translated as “shabby chic”. In other words, we will decorate and age the chest of drawers.

What can you make from a chest of drawers at home?

Decorating a chest of drawers yourself is not only changing worn-out furniture by hand, but also remodeling it. This is the creation of a completely original household item for a small amount of money.

By carrying out the restoration of a chest of drawers yourself, you can not only save money, but also show your creative abilities.

Restoring a chest of drawers is a very interesting business. There are many methods for creatively remaking such furniture:

decoupage with fabric, wallpaper, lace, postcards, etc.;
painting using stencils;
transformation by aging using different shades of paint;
gilding - working with gold leaf;
giving an antique look, creating a cracked effect, etc.

Each of the chosen methods has certain features, but the result is the same - a unique thing, devoid of cliches, a transformed piece of furniture in an interesting style.

Accommodation options

Mini chests of drawers are very practical to use and visually fit perfectly into the interior of the room if installed for:

children's room;
dressing room or hallway;
bedroom;
office, office or classroom;
workshop or place for amateur handicrafts;
bathroom.

To keep your bedroom dressing table tidy, an elegant mini jewelry chest is perfect. At the same time, the chest of drawers can also be placed on a bedside table or shelf and store jewelry, cosmetics or small jars of cream in it. In addition, these miniature beauty boxes are harmoniously integrated into the bedroom interior if they are decorated with curly handles or other decorative elements. These compact storage systems for small items, decorated in the romantic shabby chic style, look especially stylish. These are artificially aged fashionable wooden chests of drawers in pastel colors, which are used to decorate the under-mirror consoles in the powder room.

You can also install a small chest of drawers in the bedroom, which will function as a first aid kit for medications that you need to constantly have nearby. For workshops or creative studios, compact organizers are simply irreplaceable, as they allow you to clearly structure the order of storing small parts, consumables and accessories.

How to restore an old chest of drawers with your own hands

Over time, any furniture ceases to be attractive: the varnish may peel off, the colors often become dull, etc. But everyone can do restoration work at home: restoration and renewal.

Over time, the chest of drawers may lose its attractive appearance.

How can you restore an old chest of drawers with your own hands? The main thing that needs to be done is to prepare everything that is required for work of this kind - finishing materials and tools - and familiarize yourself in detail with the process methodology. Having decorated the chest of drawers, the craftsman will give the antique piece of furniture another life.

With the help of decor you can update old furniture.

NOTE! The technology for updating an old cabinet is divided into several stages. Each of them is undoubtedly important in order for the expected result to be achieved.

Dimensions

Compact plastic mini chests of drawers consist of shallow containers the size of a palm (13*9*8 cm), into which you can pour beads, small buttons, paper clips or tacks. In addition, through the transparent walls of the containers, you can easily view the contents without opening them. Universal multi-section cabinets have the format of a standard sheet of paper: height 20 cm, width 18 cm, cell depth 26 cm, which allows you to install them with maximum convenience in a limited area of a shelf or cabinet. At the same time, you can “pour” quite a lot of the necessary “small things” into such a mini tabletop chest of drawers. Plywood chests of drawers - organizers can have arbitrary dimensions, since they can be ordered according to an individual sketch or made by yourself.

Multi-storey plastic organizers with retractable containers the size of a standard office sheet, have the following dimensions: height 50 cm, width 21 cm, box depth 29 cm. Such transparent turret chests of drawers are quite roomy, stable, so they are convenient and profitable to use for a personal workshop. Experts recommend creating a combination of several closed shelves for sorting, storing parts or small tools.

Removing paint and plastic film

The preparatory stage in the restoration process is very important.

NOTE! If you miss anything when preparing the surface for decoupage, all further work will be useless.

Before you start decorating, you need to do some careful preparation.
Decorating the chest of drawers is preceded by removing the previous paint or varnish coating. For this purpose, apply acetone to the surface and cover the chest of drawers with oilcloth or film for about an hour: the latter is done to enhance the effect.

After the specified time, the film, remaining varnish and paint are removed using a spatula.

Old paint needs to be removed.

We remove cracks

If in some places on the surface of the chest of drawers chips, cracks, scratches appear, holes or other defects are visible, they can be hidden or disguised with wood putty.

If there are cracks, they must be repaired.

Sanding the base

The putty must be completely dry. It is important. Next, the surface should be thoroughly sanded with sandpaper or a sanding sponge.

The surface must be smoothly sanded.

The surface can also be carefully processed with a special grinding machine.

We prime

The basis for a future self-restored product has been created. Next you need to prime it and paint it.

Then, after the putty has dried, it is necessary to apply acrylic primer. It is usually white: this material has more advantages. But in some cases, black primer may be required.

After preliminary work, the item needs to be primed and painted.

Painting

After the soil has completely dried (this will take about three to four hours), you can begin painting the chest of drawers.

Painting is carried out after the soil has completely dried.

NOTE! Once a primer is selected for wood, there is no one-size-fits-all paint solution.

So, the composition could be as follows:

water based;
acrylic;
multicolor;
plain.

The choice of paint depends only on your preferences.
What to choose from directly depends on the master himself, his initial idea, and what result he wants to achieve.

The chest of drawers is coated with paint, for which you need to use a roller or brush.

Next, varnish is applied to the surface of the chest of drawers, followed by 1-2 layers of paint. The final step is another coat of varnish.

Antique decor

Required materials : acrylic paint, roller or brush for painting, sandpaper, gold leaf, glue, varnish.

An antique decorated chest of drawers is suitable for a bedroom in country or Provence style. It's funny that even the marks of time have to look stylish, so you have to work a little. On the prepared surface (5th stage of our list) we apply two layers of acrylic paint in contrasting colors. After the paint has completely dried, we sand the corners and protruding areas with sandpaper.

If you want to give your chest of drawers a feeling of former luxury, additionally use thin foil called gold leaf. Apply glue to the selected areas, and then place the gold leaf on top. Give it at least two hours to dry and remove any excess. The final stage of work, as you probably already guessed, is varnishing.

How to decorate a chest of drawers with your own hands

There are many ways to decorate a chest of drawers.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION! Numerous ideas from specialists and their recommendations will help turn your bedroom interior into perfection.

There are a great many ways to decorate a chest of drawers.
So, what can you do to decorate your chest of drawers?

The original solution is to add:

floral print;
fabric on the sides of the drawers.

Floral prints are one way to make your chest of drawers unique.
Other great dresser makeover ideas:

use painted toys as handles, or alternatively, use their halves;
cover it with metallic paint;
paint in other original ways (for example, in ombre style);
when painting, you can use magnetic paint;
decorate the boxes with maps of different countries;
coat the drawers with different shades of varnish;
decorate with multi-colored stripes;
add a sunny accent;
cover with newspapers;
update with gift wrapping;
create an optical illusion on the surface;
cover with fabric;
cover with foil;
create a colored texture on the drawers;
use house numbers as handles;
decorate with bright geometric patterns;
mix prints;
make color contrast;
line with colored pencils;
use a stencil to create an original pattern;
make three-dimensional decor, etc.

You can experiment endlessly.

Features of small structures

A compact chest of drawers for small items is a cabinet with numerous drawers located one above the other. Thus, small items can be sorted into insulated containers, fastened into a single vertical structure, which helps to economically manage useful space.

Lightweight universal plastic boxes are made of durable environmentally friendly material with sections of the same size. As a rule, such compact structures consist of three, four or five levels. Simple wooden structures are often offered for sale in the form of sanded plywood blanks for independent artistic decoration. Containers in such devices come in different sizes, which creates additional opportunities for laying out larger items and “loading” small items.

Master class on chest of drawers restoration

On thematic resources, connoisseurs of old things and those who like to create something with their own hands will find wonderful master classes. The videos show how to restore and restore an old chest of drawers, provide detailed step-by-step instructions, talk about the necessary tools and materials, and reveal the features of decoupage.

You can get many ideas for decorating furniture from master classes.

Master classes will help you do everything correctly, in the required sequence.

Decorating a chest of drawers yourself is a great opportunity to show your artistic taste and create an updated and completely unique interior object. A simple thing can be turned into an example of almost any stylistic direction.

Thanks to the art of decoupage, you can turn a simple boring thing into a unique art object.

Roses – pictures for decoupage

If you want to decoupage a bedside table with your own hands, or decoupage a buffet, you may need decoupage pictures that are printed on a color laser printer.

Examples of chest of drawers restoration

Purpose

In the dressing room, a compact chest of drawers can be attached to a rack, and belts, gloves, scarves and belts that are used daily can be placed in the compartments. If the chest of drawers is integrated into the body of a wardrobe in the hallway, then it is convenient to lay out keys, key rings, notepads, envelopes with letters, checks and receipts in isolated compartments. A multifunctional plastic mini chest of drawers is very useful in the bathroom, since small hygiene and care items also need to be sorted into pull-out compartments for permanent placement and easy access. Moisture resistance is the main quality of this storage system. The design and tinting of the fronts of the chest of drawers sections can be easily matched to the overall interior of the sanitary unit.

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A universal desktop chest of drawers organizer is simply indispensable in the office, accounting department or reception area for sorting staples, paper clips, rods and other accessories. Small stationery items, which are often used by office workers, are neatly laid out in the small compartments of the chest of drawers, maintaining perfect order in the workplace.

Mini organizers are used to store:

stationery;
accessories and decorations;
accessories and fastenings for needlework;
medicines.

Multi-tiered and multi-sectional chests of drawers are perfectly combined with other miniature furniture - cabinets with hinged doors and open shelves. Portable organizers are convenient and can be easily moved to the right place.

Particularly popular are elegant and stylish toiletries, which are designed on the principle of a combined chest of drawers - a box. Under a leather or glass lid there is a standard organizer with cells, and the pull-out boxes are mounted on hinges, which allow you to simultaneously open the compartments of all tiers for full visibility. As a rule, such decorative chests are designed to store a collection of jewelry. In this case, the inside walls of the box are lined with suede upholstery, rollers for rings and equipped with a small mirror for quick fitting.

It is interesting that elegant ornate chests - chests of drawers were used in the home life of the royal family. In Crimea, in the museum of the Livadia Palace in the chambers of Princess Olga Nikolaevna, on the dressing table and in our time there is an antique cabinet - a portable one. Behind the mirrored door there are shelves for crystal bottles and everyday toiletries, and the lower part is made of classic wooden pull-out boxes.

To store “modest” everyday jewelry, jewelry cabinets were used - caskets, upholstered on the inside with scarlet taffeta (fabric with a noble tint) and equipped with secret drawers, secret niches, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl and silver. Small chests of drawers for “golden pins” from the luxurious dresses of beautiful ladies were richly decorated with enamel medallions and pearls.

Nuances of technology

Modern needlewomen are not limited to simply gluing beautiful pictures. Today, there are several decorating techniques using decoupage that help give furniture an original, unusual look:

gilding – the decorated surface is covered with a layer of gold leaf, which is an inexpensive analogue of gold leaf. This method allows you to enhance the effect of luxury and royal chic, perfect for interiors in Baroque, Art Deco, Empire style;
patination – creation of patina, artificial aging of an object. This decoupage technique is actively used in rustic or classic interiors. The general background of the decoupled surface depends on what type of patina is applied - silver, bronze or a noble shade of natural wood;
tinting – creating a background and shading using acrylic paints. Used to add contrast and enhance the color of the design;
Craquelure is another type of adding a visual effect of antiquity to the surface. This is a very unusual decoupage technique, in which cracks form on the object, emphasizing the originality of the material. There are two types of craquelure - one-component (cracks in the paint layer) and two-component (cracks are added in the top layer of varnish). A rather complex process, it looks especially beautiful on transparent surfaces - saucers, vases, decorated with cute pastoral or floral scenes.

Decoupage is a great way not only to give “new life” to old things, but also a wonderful process of self-expression. Many designers admit that this hobby is so exciting, it allows you to forget about problems, and the result is so pleasing that decoupage has become their main activity. Try it too, because with our tips, doing decoupage will become much easier.